Dirty Churches presents altered environments exploring the intersection of myth, ritual and contemporary urban life through performance art, opera and experimental theater. Their opera ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS at La MaMa Galleria in June of 2019 featured costumed performances set to a live score for soprano and chamber orchestra as well as choreographed movement and dance. Dirty Churches has also collaborated with dancer and choreographer Alexandra Jacob and her partner Constantine Alexis for three contemporary ballet performances Silver Suite, Eater of Hearts and The Exterminator’s Metamorphosis. Together, Dirty Churches has performed at such NYC venues as Westbeth, White Box, La MaMa Galleria, Capsule Gallery, The Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, Picasso Machinery, Soho20 Chelsea Gallery, 92Y Tribeca, Brooklyn Fire Proof, the Tarot Society and Art Helix.

Jesse Gelaznik (Composer)

Dirty Churches founder and composer Jesse Gelaznik specializes in film soundtracks, as well as music for art performances and dance. His Dirty Churches opera ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS was performed in June of 2019 for a three night run at La MaMa Gelleria. Jesse also composed a prerecorded soundtrack for the play The ARTS which opened La MaMa's 2019 season. Directors Daniel Garcia and Rania Attieh used his music in the feature film Initials S.G., which premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. He has been nominated for best score by the American Independent Film Awards for his work on the feature film H., which screened at Sundance, MoMA and the Berlin International Film Festival in 2014. Gelaznik’s collaborative project with Daniel Garcia, PWR&$$$, received a commission from the Sharjah Art Foundation for their Biennial X and was displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2012. Jesse also performed alto guitar in Glenn Branca’s 13th Symphony Hallucination City.

Rachel Blackwell (Art director and costumes)

Rachel Blackwell creates, constructs and performs as the creatures that inhabit Dirty Churches. The collaboration began when Gelaznik organized a live score to play during a screening for Blackwell’s video Meditations on Death. Both became interested in expanding the spectacle, and Rachel decided to introduce a performance element. She has shown independently and in collaboration at White Box, the 92Y Tribeca, Theater Lab, The Chelsea Hotel and many other galleries, festivals, clubs, theaters and music venues.